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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cold · bat · bank · march · date · swing · hide · cue

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cue — a hint
  4. march — the month
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. bank — of a river
  8. cue — for pool
  9. cold — not warm
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. swing — music
  12. swing — to play on
  13. date — the fruit
  14. cold — an illness
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. march — music
  19. bank — for money
  20. bank — for money
  21. swing — in golf
  22. march — the month
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. cue — a signal

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com